to get him back.

"One of them said, 'These men who attacked us are Burmese soldiers.
As they attack us, there is no reason why we should not attack
them.'

"So I think, master, that you can count upon them. The Burmese have
always been fond of fighting, because fighting means booty. The
troops don't want to fight any more, because they get no booty, and
a number of them are killed. But, now that the villagers have been
forced to go to the war against their will; and have been
plundered, and many killed, by Burmese soldiers, they are quite
ready to take sides with you. Three of them have had wives or
children killed, today; and that makes them full of fight."

"Well, you had better tell them to cook, at once, food for two or
three days. At four o'clock they are to start, through the forest,
to the road you spoke of. We will set out at the same time, on
horseback; but we shall have to make a detour, so they will be on
the road before we are. Tell them when they get there to stop,
until we come up."

"Yes, master. It is a good thing that I rode your second horse,
yesterday, instead of Mr. Brooke's animal."

"Yes, he is worth a good deal more than the other, Meinik, and I
should certainly have been sorry to lose him."

"One of the men who is going with us says that he knows of the
ruins of an old temple, eight or nine miles this side of Toungoo;
and that this would be a good place for us to leave our horses. It
is very, very old; one of those built by the people who lived in
the land before we came to it, and the Burmans do not like to go
near it; so that there would be no fear of our being disturbed,
there. Even these men do not much like going there; but I told them
that no evil spirits would come, where white men were."

"It is rather far off, Meinik; but as you say the country is
cultivated, for some distance round the town, we shall certainly
have to leave our horses some six or seven miles away; and two or
three miles will not make much difference. We can put on our
disguises there.

"You had better take a couple of boys to look after the horses,
while we are away."

"They would not sleep there, at night," Meinik said, doubtfully. "I
don't think the men would, either, if you were not there."

"That would not matter, Meinik, if as you say, there is no fear of
anyone else going there."

"Certainly, no one else will go there at night, master."

"At any rate, if you can get two boys to go, we may as wel